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Avoiding the California Highway Patrol on the Autoweek America Adventure

October 29, 2011

The electronic countermeasures from Escort help level the playing field on the California highway. Photo by TOMMY KENDALL

"Damn revenuers," said Tommy Kendall. "They are draped all along the side of the road."

He spoke, of course, about the California Highway Patrol, whose strategically positioned cars--and subsequent laser-detection devices and KA-band radar--were lighting up this two-lane south of Klamath Falls, Ore., less than two miles inside the state line.

It's a fact of economics, especially in California, a state that's running out of money faster than Greece. If you can generate cash from tourists driving along on a beautifully clear Saturday morning in the great hinterlands, do it.

Little did they know we were armed with the latest in electronic countermeasures, courtesy of Escort. So take that!

You might have read about this ingenious device. Called Escort Live, it goes beyond a single, high-powered detector you put in your car. It is an entirely holistic system of identifying, tagging and recording the activities of laser-shooting gendarmes with a smart cord and a smartphone app.

Network of drivers

The effectiveness of this system is what makes it brilliant. It is a network of like-minded people--and similarly prepared folks--who have smartphones and smart cords systematically tracking those who want to separate you from your money. And while Escort can't say that it's about finding those who generate revenue for these small towns, I can. Little preservation of public safety takes place at dawn on a virtually abandoned two-lane highway.

Escort Live works at its peak when multiple systems identify and tag targets, which is why we outfitted Graham Rahal and his co-driver Chris Berry with a second unit on the Autoweek America Adventure. (Yeah, Graham, go out there ahead of us, we'll bring up the rear. No problem . . .) Each of our cars is outfitted with these prototype devices that will work great by themselves, but married to the smart cord and the dedicated iPhone app, they give you a dashboard of readouts from which to choose, and you feel empowered.

Can't outrun laser

I've never been one to use a radar detector before. I've said the "crutch" of their function prevents me from being as attentive to what lies ahead as I should be. But no one can outrun laser. No one can see a quarter-mile up the road and make out the sneering, hungry hunter in black and white. No one can, but Escort Live seemed to do just fine for us.

It didn't hurt that we were riding in a group of like-minded folks and they alerted us to a speed trap two miles south of the Shasta, Calif., I-5 bridge. There it was: a quick glint off of something out of place in the median, stretched out about a 1,000 feet to 1,500 feet ahead. What is that? It turned out to be a cop on a motorcycle spraying the infield, and we "saw" him well in advance of any real visual identification. And there a mile down the road were two county locals, perched in bushes to the right on the highway, ready to pounce their prey, their big truck engines purring. You could almost see them salivating.

The Escort detector kept us out of trouble, as did the good deeds of other sharp-eyed veterans of these wars. Still, I couldn't help but think that this entire Escort system raised the ante in giving the driver if not an advantage, then a more level playing field--some great peace of mind on the highways. We found the Escort Live to be as close to launching our own AWACs electronics-surveillance planes as exists for the common commuter. Thanks, Escort.

Dutch Mandel
- Dutch Mandel, Autoweek’s editorial director and associate publisher, has been with the company for 29 years. A second-generation car journo, he grew up with exotic cars in the garage. Among his many feats is a chef for a racing team and automotive consultant on the Pixar movie CARS and CARS 2.
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